Anttoni Honka (born 5 October 2000) is a
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
defenceman
Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...
who currently plays with the
Chicago Wolves
The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...
in the
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...
(AHL) as a prospect to the
Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...
of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
(NHL). Honka was selected by the Hurricanes in the 3rd round (83rd overall) of the
2019 NHL Entry Draft
The 2019 NHL Entry Draft was the 57th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 21–22, 2019 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The first three selections were Jack Hughes going to the New Jersey Devils, Kaapo Kakko being sel ...
.
Playing career
Honka was a "high risk, high reward" prospect
who was ranked #22 on the
NHL Central Scouting Bureau The NHL Central Scouting Services (CSS) is a department within the National Hockey League that ranks prospects for the NHL Entry Draft at specific times during the hockey season. Players are ranked based on how well they will translate to the profe ...
final list of 2019 NHL Draft eligible European skaters.
Honka played the 2017–18 season in the
JYP Jyväskylä
JYP is an ice hockey team playing in the Finnish top division Liiga. They play in Jyväskylä, Finland, at the LähiTapiola Areena.
History
JYP was founded in 1923. First it was the ice hockey section of the sports club ''Jyväskylän Palloilija ...
system. He played 28 games with JYP U20 in the
Nuorten SM-liiga
The U20 SM-sarja ('Under-20 Finnish Championship Series') is the premier junior men’s ice hockey league in Finland. It was previously known as the A-nuorten SM-sarja ('Junior A Finnish Championship Series') during 1945 to 1991 and the Nuorten ...
(Jr. A) and 20 games with JYP in the
Liiga
The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding lea ...
; he was also loaned to
KeuPa HT
KeuPa HT are a semi-professional ice hockey team based in Keuruu, Finland. They are members of the second highest league in Finland, Mestis. The club was founded in 1995 in the Finnish fourth division II-Divisioona after the ice hockey club d ...
, the farm club for JYP in the
Mestis
Mestis (from fi, Mestaruussarja, meaning 'Championship series') is the second-highest men's ice hockey league in Finland. The league was established by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 2000 to replace the I-divisioona ('First Division' ...
, for seven regular season games and five playoff games. His play in the 2017–18 season earned him the Reijo Ruotsalainen Award for Best Defenseman in Finnish U20 and selection to the Jr. A SM-liiga First All-Star Team.
The 2018–19 season saw Honka continue to move between the Liiga, Mestis, and Junior A SM-liiga. He began the season with the JYP organization, playing six games with JYP U20 and 16 games in the Liiga, before being loaned out for the remainder of the season to KeuPa in the Mestis and
Mikkelin Jukurit
Mikkelin Jukurit is a professional ice hockey team in Liiga, the top tier Finnish ice hockey league. They play in Mikkeli, Finland, at the Kalevankankaan jäähalli (known since 2016 as Ikioma Areena). The team has won 7 Mestis (2nd highest level ...
in Liiga. In the post-season, Honka played with KeuPa in the
Mestis playoffs, contributing big minutes and 11 points (3+8) in 17 games before the team ultimately fell to
Imatran Ketterä
Imatran Ketterä is an ice hockey club based in Imatra, Finland. Ketterä plays in the Finnish second-tier league, Mestis, during the 2022–23 season.
Ketterä has played in Mestis since 2017 and has won the championship three times (2019, 2021, ...
in the finals.
Following his sixth season in the Liiga, Honka was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with draft club, the Carolina Hurricanes, on 17 August 2022.
International play
Honka made his IIHF international debut for
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
in April 2018 at the
2018 IIHF World U18 Championships
The 2018 IIHF U18 World Championship was the 20th IIHF World U18 Championship. The tournament was played from 19 to 29 April 2018 in Chelyabinsk and Magnitogorsk, Russia. United States lost to Finland.
Top Division
Match officials
12 referees an ...
in
Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk ( rus, Челя́бинск, p=tɕɪˈlʲæbʲɪnsk, a=Ru-Chelyabinsk.ogg; ba, Силәбе, ''Siläbe'') is the administrative center and largest city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the seventh-largest city in Russia, with a ...
and
Magnitogorsk
Magnitogorsk ( rus, Магнитого́рск, p=məɡnʲɪtɐˈɡorsk, ) is an industrial city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern side of the extreme southern extent of the Ural Mountains by the Ural River. Its population ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
where he was able to play with other Finnish top talents including
2018 NHL Entry Draft
The 2018 NHL Entry Draft was the 56th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 22–23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
The 2018 NHL Entry Draft was the second of two professional sports drafts to be held in the Dalla ...
third-overall selection
Jesperi Kotkaniemi
Jesperi Kotkaniemi (; born 6 July 2000) is a Finnish professional ice hockey center currently playing for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted third overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2018 NHL Entry D ...
and fellow 2019 NHL Entry Draft selections
Kaapo Kakko
Kaapo Kakko (; born 13 February 2001) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Kakko was selected second overall by the Rangers in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Kakko plays right win ...
,
Lassi Thomson, and
Mikko Kokkonen. Honka collected five points in seven games to help the team secure gold over the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
He joined
Team Finland again in December 2018 for the
2019 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (2019 WJC) in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
and
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
. His first international tournament at the under-20 (junior) level saw Honka on a team of highly skilled players including
NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
prospects Henri Jokiharju and
Eeli Tolvanen and fellow 2019 NHL Entry Draft selections Kaapo Kakko,
Ville Heinola
Ville Heinola (born March 2, 2001) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing with the Manitoba Moose in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was ranke ...
,
Kim Nousiainen, and
Valtteri Puustinen.
Honka saw limited ice time throughout the tournament and collected no points in six games played. Finland's efforts once again beat out the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
in the final round and resulted in gold.
Honka’s first major tournament after being drafted was the
2020 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship, which was a substantially better showing for him than the previous year. The Finnish roster was strong, with ranks filled by returning players and a number of 2019 NHL draft selections, including
Lassi Thomson,
Mikko Kokkonen,
goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...
Justus Annunen
Justus Hermanni Annunen (born 11 March 2000) is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender for the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). Annunen won the ...
, and Honka’s Carolina Hurricanes draft-mate
Patrik Puistola, in addition to top-rated players eligible for future drafts, most notably,
Aatu Räty. In contrast to the 2019 tournament, Honka saw substantial minutes, ranking third for defenceman
time on ice and averaging 16:26 minutes per game. He notched an assist on Patrik Puistola’s goal against
Sweden, Finland's first goal of the tournament. Several days later, Honka scored a
one timer
In ice hockey, a one-timer is a shot that occurs when a player meets a teammate's pass with an immediate slapshot, without any attempt to control the puck on their stick. An effective one timer requires precise timing on the part of both players ...
against
Switzerland off of an assist from
Ville Heinola
Ville Heinola (born March 2, 2001) is a Finnish professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing with the Manitoba Moose in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was ranke ...
(secondary assist by
Kristian Tanus) and was named Best Player of the Game as selected by the team. The Finns were competitive throughout but ultimately fell to Sweden in the bronze medal game, finishing the tournament in fourth place.
Personal life
Honka comes from a family of hockey players; his father and three older brothers are or were hockey players. His eldest brother, Aleksi, most recently played with
Kiekko-Espoo
Kiekko-Espoo is a Finnish ice hockey club founded in 1984. Kiekko-Espoo men's team plays in the Mestis and the women's team plays in the Naisten Liiga. Kiekko-Espoo's junior teams play at national league levels in U16, U18 and U20 juniors. The ...
of the
Suomi-sarja. His third-eldest brother,
Julius
The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the ...
, was selected by the
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...
in the first round (14th overall) of the
2014 NHL Entry Draft
The 2014 NHL Entry Draft was the 52nd NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 27–28, 2014 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The top three selections were Aaron Ekblad, Sam Reinhart and Leon Draisaitl, going to the F ...
and currently plays with
Luleå HF
Luleå Hockeyförening is an ice hockey club from Luleå, Sweden. The club has been playing in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the top tier of ice hockey in Sweden, since the 1984–85 season. They are the northernmost team in the league and h ...
of the
Swedish Hockey League (SHL).
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Honka, Anttoni
2000 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Jyväskylä
Finnish ice hockey defencemen
Carolina Hurricanes draft picks
Chicago Wolves players
JYP Jyväskylä players
KeuPa HT players
Mikkelin Jukurit players
21st-century Finnish people